Old San Carlos

Tucson authors Paul and Kathleen Nickens have gathered and identified more than 200 rare and mostly unpublished historic photographs of Old San Carlos from its beginning to its demise for this preeminent view into Arizona's unique history. The closing stage coincides with the construction of Coolidge Dam on the Gila River in 1928 and the inundation of the original agency location.

Established in 1873, the San Carlos Indian Agency provided a reservation for the areaas Western Apache bands. A U.S. Army post was created nearby to exert military control. Together the original agency and army post are known today as Old San Carlos. From 1874 to 1877, the U.S. governmentas peace policy directed additional Apache groups and other regional natives to San Carlos. Ensuing turmoil, including renewal of traditional intergroup rivalries and rebellion against civilian and military control, initiated the familiar Apache Wars. These campaigns were fought through the 1870s and 1880s, as Apache rebels intermittently broke from the reserve and returned to former haunts or sought refuge in northern Mexico. By all accountsafrom white civilians, military personnel, and native people alikeathe San Carlos Agency and army post was an inhospitable locale, compounded by recurring instability and conflict.